MCMORROW COULD HAVE FULL PLATE FOR AZTECS

Sophomore vying to be team’s placekicker, punter, kickoff man

Expectations are high for San Diego State kicker Seamus McMorrow this season.

McMorrow joined the Aztecs as a freshman from St. Augustine High in 2012 and made an immediate impact as the team’s punter and kickoff specialist.

He led the Mountain West Conference with 33 touchbacks out of 68 kickoffs, and he punted 41 times for an average of 41.7 yards. The Aztecs named him their most outstanding freshman at the end of the season.

But McMorrow also has had his struggles off the field.

He was suspended for the team’s loss to San Jose State on Sept. 22 because of an unspecified violation of team rules, and the Aztecs clearly missed his kickoff prowess when the Spartans’ Tyler Ervin ran a kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

Then, McMorrow missed all of spring practice because of another suspension.

But the Aztecs’ only scholarship kicker was back for the start of fall camp, and he’s vying to be the team’s placekicker, punter and kickoff specialist.

McMorrow, nursing a strained quad, returned to kicking on Thursday. He looked strong on punts last week and should be fine to start the season.

Aztecs special teams coach Kevin McGarry said McMorrow has the physical ability to perform well at all three kicking positions.

“For him, it’s the mental portion,” McGarry said. “He kicked off last year, so he feels really solid about that. He punted last year, and it was good for him to get that under his belt and do it because he wasn’t what you would consider a classic punter in high school.”

McGarry said McMorrow was more used to running fakes and rolling out to punt in high school, but the Aztecs have been training him to punt traditionally.

This year, the Aztecs are putting a third assignment on McMorrow’s plate. They want him to fine-tune his placekicking skills.

“He didn’t kick field goals last year, so now he’s trying to build some confidence in that regard as well,” McGarry said. “He’s working hard at it, and he’s been pretty good so far in camp.”

The Aztecs planned to trot out McMorrow on field-goal attempts last season.

SDSU didn’t attempt a field goal in the first game, then Chance Marden — a walk-on from the soccer team — went 0-for-3 over the next two games, prompting the coaches to give McMorrow a chance against San Jose State.

McMorrow was unexpectedly suspended for the game, however, and Marden broke his streak of misses by nailing field goals from 25 and 41 yards against the Spartans.

Thereafter, the job was Marden’s to lose, and he was a perfect 11-for-11 the rest of the year.

Now, McMorrow and Wes Feer, a senior, are competing for the placekicking position. Neither kicker has attempted a field goal in a college game, but it’s not a stretch to say McMorrow has the edge.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder is a gifted athlete who’s renowned for his leg strength. In 2010, he tied the CIF San Diego Section record for longest field goal when he converted a 58-yard attempt.